Neighbor forces Washington mother, three kids to be his chore 'slaves'

By Jessica Schladebeck

Jun 02, 2018 | 9:40 AM

A 12-year-old boy who went missing one morning was found held captive with his family by a neighbor who forced them serve as his chore "slaves," according to police. (Dreamstime)

A Washington mother and her three children were held captive by a “huge and intimidating” neighbor who forced them to do the Pledge of Allegiance and serve as his chore “slaves,” according to police.

A 12-year-old Centralia boy disappeared before school Wednesday morning after he stepped outside to start his mother’s car, the Daily Chronicle reported. His family began to search for him and quickly discovered him in the yard of their 29-year-old neighbor, Wellington Miles Waggener.

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“Come here,” Waggener — who stands at a dominating 6 feet 9 inches — commanded before allegedly grabbing the boy by his coat collar and dragging him over to his property.

That’s where Waggener allegedly hit the boy across the face and ordered him to clean up the yard and sweep his home. When his mother arrived with her 13-year-old and 15-year-old children the neighbor refused to let the preteen leave, insisting he needed the help.

Waggener then forced them to join in with the yard work, explaining that now “they knew what it was like to be slaves,” the 15-year-old boy recalled for police.

Some of the other tasks he forced them to participate in included piling fire wood and cleaning up garbage, according to KCPQ.

The family eventually started pleading with Waggener, telling them one of the boys had a test he would miss, but their captor refused to let them go.

Instead, he made them say the Pledge of Allegiance.

After an hour of forced labor, Waggener walked across the street, giving the 13-year-old girl an opportunity to phone for help.

Police arrested Waggener without incident and charged him with malicious harassment, unlawful imprisonment and fourth-degree assault, according to the Chronicle. He is being held without bail at the Lewis County Jail.

His arrest this week isn’t the first brush Waggener has had with law enforcement, Centralia Police Department Commander Pat Fitzgerald told the Modesto Bee.

Waggener was last arrested in September 2016 on suspicion of kicking out a police car’s window after he was detained as part of an assault investigation. In July 2015 he was arrested for burglary with sexual motivation, though the charges were later dropped.

Waggener was still sentenced to nine months in jail for assaulting a corrections officer while behind bars awaiting hearings, according to the Chronicle.

“He’s kind of an intimidating guy,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s taken five police officers to get him into custody before.”